Abstract
EXPERIMENTS in this laboratory on the lines described above by Hašková and Hrubešová confirm their finding that preparations of deoxyribonucleic acid may provoke a feeble transplantation immunity that is detectable by homografts of skin. Splenic nuclear fragments from mice (usually of strain A) were washed six times in 0.15 M sodium chloride or in 0.15 M sodium chloride − 0.01 M sodium versenate at pH 7.0. Deoxyribonucleic acid was prepared from these nuclear fragments either by the sodium xylene sulphonate method (personally communicated by Dr. N. S. Simmons) or by dissolving them in 2 M sodium chloride, spinning at 25,000g for 30–60 min., and deproteinizing the supernatant by up to nine successive emulsifications with chloroform–amyl alcohol mixture1. The former preparation was completed by precipitation with 0.54 vol. isopropyl alcohol in the presence of 0.3 M neutral sodium acetate, and the latter by precipitation with 0.2 vol. ethyl alcohol in the presence of 0.15 M sodium chloride − 0.1 M calcium chloride2. In either case the fibres of deoxyribonucleate were blotted free from excess of fluid, cut up into coarse fragments under a balanced salt solution, and allowed to swell into stiff transparent jellies. In this form they were injected into recipient mice (usually of strain CBA), each mouse receiving about 5 mgm. deoxyribonucleic acid. The survival scores3,4 at six days of test skin homografts transplanted three to five days after the injection ranged from 25 per cent (indicating a definite state of sensitivity) to 100 per cent (the normal or ‘control’ response). Great pains were taken throughout the preparations to ensure that the deoxyribonucleic acid was in an undegraded state.
Similar content being viewed by others
Article PDF
References
Mirsky, A. E., and Pollister, A. W., J. Gen. Physiol., 30, 117 (1946).
McCarty, M., and Avery, O. T., J. Exp. Med., 83, 97 (1946).
Billingham, R. E., Brent, L., and Medawar, P. B., Proc. Roy. Soc., B, 143, 58 (1954).
Billingham, R. E., Brent, L., and Medawar, P. B., Nature, 178, 514 (1956).
Billingham, B. E., Brent, L., and Medawar, P. B., Transplantation Bull. (in the press).
Kandutsch, A. A., and Reinert-Wenck, U., J. Exp. Med., 105, 125 (1957).
Aminoff, D., and Morgan, W. T. J., Biochem. J., 48, 74 (1951). Watkins, W. M., ibid., 54, xxxiii (1953).
Snell, G. D., Ann. Rev. Microbiol., 11, 439 (1957).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
MEDAWAR, P. Part played by Deoxyribonucleic Acid in Transplantation Immunity. Nature 182, 62 (1958). https://doi.org/10.1038/182062a0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/182062a0
This article is cited by
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.